Sponge ballast system for inflatable rafts

ABSTRACT

The system comprised of highly compressed sponge contained in permeable enclosures, which enclosures in turn are secured to the underside of an inflatable raft, which the compressed sponge, upon contact with water, rapidly absorbs water through the openings and quickly expands providing prompt, sufficient weight and ballast for a wet person to climb aboard a raft as light as 5 pounds. The present invention used 20 compressed sponges to achieve such results.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/338,349 filed by Stanton Dennis Terrell and Cynthia MaryShell-Terrell and awarded a filing date of Feb. 18, 2010. Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility patent applicationNo. 20110197801, filed Feb. 16, 2011 which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application No. 20150344115, filed Dec. 3, 2015 and nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to flotation devices and morespecifically, as to certain embodiments, to stabilized small lightweightself-rescue rafts.

Ocean-going survival life rafts using ballast water bags are well knownsince the 1940 s. The ballast bags these rafts rely on are a depending,sometimes weighted, water-enclosure system. These water-enclosure (bags)systems are designed in one of three ways: (one) several dependingenclosures along the underside of a raft; (two) one large, dependingenclosure under the center of a raft; or (three) several peripheraldepending enclosures. These enclosures are sometimes referred to as“water-retaining chambers.” The several depending enclosures are seen inU.S. Pat. No. 3,092,854 issued Jul. 11, 1963, to Manhart; the largedepending enclosure is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,905 issued Jan. 11,1977, to Givens; and the several peripheral enclosures are seen in U.S.Pat. No. 4,216,559 issued Aug. 12, 1980, to Switlik. These systemsremain in use today and represent the state of the art in stabilizedsurvival rafts.

Inflatable lightweight self-rescue rafts differ from heavier ocean-goinglife rafts (mentioned above) in that they can weigh less than 5-10pounds dry, and provide fewer survival supplies for longer term rescueon open waters. An ocean-going life raft can weigh up to 60 pounds dryand provide long-term survival supplies.

An inflatable lightweight self-rescue raft is generally intended toprevent drowning or death from hypothermia while awaiting a quickerrescue.An inflatable lightweight self-rescue raft can be stored aboard smallboats that sail coastal or paddle the intercoastal waterways.Inflatable lightweight self-rescue rafts use either no ballast bags forstability system or an ineffective, unweighted water-retaining chamber.Unweighted water-retaining chambers are known to float up to the bottomof the raft, gathering no water for weight for ballast.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can be attached by a raft manufacturer to theunderside of any lightweight inflatable self-rescue raft. Being attachedto the underside of a lightweight raft can greatly enhance a person'sability to climb aboard for self-rescue.

The present invention uses highly compressed sponge within permeableenclosures. The permeable enclosures:1) Allow for rapid entry of fluid.2) Allow for the expansion of compressed sponge.3) Provide continued containment of the saturated sponge.The enclosures could be sturdy, with perforation; flexible; or anypermeable enclosure capable of allowing sufficient fluid entry, capableof containing compressed and then expanded sponge, and capable of beingsecured to the underside of a raft (e.g., via heat seal at the time ofmanufacture).

Once the compressed sponge quickly expands from absorption, the ballastprovides vastly increased water weight, creating a counterweight aidingone to easily mount the raft without the difficulty typicallyencountered when one attempts to mount a non-stabilized lightweightraft. In non-stabilized ballast systems the opposite side of the devicerises or capsizes, hampering or preventing entry upon the raft. Unlikeinflatable rafts fitted with slow filling water-retaining bags, thepresent invention provides ballast (weight) almost immediately upondeployment in water. This invention will significantly reduce the riskthat a lightweight raft will overturn due to wind, wave, or both; andprovides additional flotation.

Another unique feature of the present invention is that it enhances theability for a lightweight rescue raft to be stored on vessels such askayaks, canoes, paddleboards, small boats and small aircraft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a conventional two-person raft showingsuitable placement, indicated with shading, of the sponge-ballastsystem.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a conventional two-person raft with acut-away showing the placement of several sponge elements withinpermeable enclosures.

FIG. 3 is a front-side view of a conventional two-person raft suggestingthe permeable enclosures with enclosed sponge elements indicated withshading.

FIG. 4 & FIG. 5 show suitable placement of the sponge elements on thebottom of a conventional round inflatable raft.

FIG. 6 & FIG. 7 illustrate an alternative two-section placement ofpermeable enclosures on the underside of a typical inflated raft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention includes any flotation device for which ballast can beprovided by sponge, usually, but not necessarily, compressed syntheticsponge, contained in one or more permeable enclosures, which enclosuresin turn are secured to the underside of the device.

As used in this application, “flotation device” or “flotation element”refers to any item capable of providing buoyancy, such as inflatedsynthetic rubber.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a suitable placementof permeable enclosures on the underside of a typical inflated raft (4)said enclosures being secured to the raft indicated with shading (1).The dots indicate openings to allow water into the enclosures (2). FIG.2 shows a cut-away illustrating the placement of sponge within thepermeable enclosures, said sponge indicated as rectangular shape.Alternatively, the permeable enclosures might be segmented so that eachsaid sponge element (3) is separately contained within a separatepermeable enclosure. FIG. 3 front-side view, suggests permeableenclosures with enclosed sponge, as might appear on a typical inflatedtwo-person raft (4 a). FIG. 3 also indicates generally how the permeableenclosures might be segmented so that each sponge element is containedwithin a separate permeable enclosure (la). The dots indicate openingsto allow water into the enclosures (2 a). FIG. 4 suggests permeableenclosures with enclosed sponge, indicated with shading (1 b), as mightappear on the underside of a typical circularly configured flotationdevice (4 b). The dots indicate openings to allow water into theenclosures (2 b).

FIG. 5 suggests permeable-enclosed sponge, indicated with shading (1 c)as might appear from a side view of a typical circularly configuredflotation device (4 c).

The sponge-ballast system need not be configured as indicated and may beconfigured in any fashion along the underside (see claim 2) of aflotation device.

The sponge-ballast system can be configured to provide ballast of anydesired significance by using larger sponge for additional weight andcorrespondingly larger permeable enclosures, adding permeableenclosures, stacking permeable enclosures, or any other configurationsproviding a greater volume of sponge.

The invention may be configured in the shape of a traditional orcircular life preserver with a floor rather than a middle opening, andconfigured with the sponge-ballast system, as depicted in FIG. 4 & FIG.5.

FIG. 6 & FIG. 7 illustrate an alternative two-section placement ofpermeable enclosures on the underside of a typical inflated raft.

The invention need not be configured for human occupancy and could beconfigured, for instance, for use as a transport device over any water,such as might occur, for instance, if one sought to transport itemswhile wading across a river.

A contemplated embodiment of the invention employs compressed cellulosesponge contained in perforated Neoprene synthetic rubber, heat-sealedalong the underside of a traditional raft with inflatable floor asdepicted in FIG. 3. The permeable enclosures with the compressed spongeare configured in segments which allow easy folding and packing. A raftwith a sponge-ballast system attached can be packaged compactly forstorage on or in kayaks, canoes, small boats, or small-engine aircraftcockpit.

In certain embodiments, the permeable enclosures could be accessible,allowing removal of saturated sponge, with a replacement of anothercompressed dry sponge.

No attempt is made to illustrate the means of manufacturing and securingsuch ballast system, particularly the permeable enclosures, as this isthought sufficiently obvious as not to require special illustration.

Finally, it will be understood that various embodiments have beendisclosed by way of example, and that other modifications may occur tothose skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing supplemental ballast to alightweight inflatable raft suitable for storage on or in a craftselected from, but not limited to, the group consisting of a kayak, acanoe, a small boat and a small-engine aircraft, said method comprisingthe steps of: a. placing at least one compressed sponge in each of aplurality of water-permeable enclosures; and b. attaching saidenclosures to the underside of a inflatable raft so that, when exposedto water, the sponges increase in weight and become saturated to providesupplemental ballast to the flotation device and stabilize the flotationdevice due to the increased weight of the saturated sponges to allow aperson in the water to self-rescue by mounting the flotation devicewithout the opposite side of the device rising to hamper or prevententry upon the device; wherein the enclosures allow entry of water tocontact the sponges and allow expansion and saturation of the sponges.2. The method of claim 1b. wherein the water-permeable enclosures areattached to the underside of a forward portion of the inflatable raft orcircularly configured for a round raft.
 3. The method of claim 1b.wherein the inflated raft is selected to have a forward portion with abow at the front of the forward portion, a stern at the back of a rearportion, and a length that is greater than a width of the raft, orcircularly configured for a round raft.
 4. The method of claim 3 whereinthe flotation device is inflatable and the water-permeable enclosuresare attached to the underside of a forward portion of the flotationdevice or circularly configured for a round inflatable raft.
 5. Themethod of claim 1b. wherein the flotation device is inflatable, and hasa floor.
 6. A method of providing supplemental ballast to awater-surface inflatable rescue device capable of carrying one or twohuman occupants and suitable for storage on or in at least one of asmall craft for use on water and a small-engine aircraft, said methodcomprising: a. placing at least one compressed sponge in each of aplurality of water-permeable enclosures; and b. attaching saidenclosures to the underside of the inflatable device so that, whenexposed to water, the sponges increase in weight and become saturated toprovide supplemental ballast to the flotation device and stabilize theflotation device due to the increased weight of the sponges to allow auser in the water to quickly mount the flotation device without theopposite side of the device rising.